Improved guitar and keyboard sections but weaker bass and drum sounds - A review of Ария's Крещение огнём 2020

Russian heavy metal pioneers Aria decided to re-record their two studio albums featuring former singer Arthur Berkut with the current line-up featuring singer Mikhail Zhitnyakov. In a certain way, this is a lack of respect for the former singer who had put his heart and soul into the original performances and who had done an excellent job in my opinion. This is also the main reason why this re-recording is controversially discussed on the internet these days.

From a more objective point of view, the material is still great and the album has aged very well. The songwriting varies between epic heavy metal anthems over energetic short tracks to heartfelt ballads. The production is different from the original version as this album features slightly more domineering acoustic folk guitar sounds and improved atmospheric keyboard layers. This benefits the calm and epic moments on the record such as the overture of title track ''Крещение огнём'', the elegant, mysterious and plodding ''Палач'' or the passionate ballad ''Там высоко''. Overlooked bonus track ''Поле битвы'', released as a single six years after the original album, also benefits from the improved folk soundscapes.

On the other side, the traditional instruments sound less impressive than on the original version. Especially the bass guitar sound is missing some energy in certain songs. The amazing middle part of hit single ''Колизей'' sounds rather toothless here for instance. Hidden pearl ''Белый флаг'' sounds less heavy than in its original form due to unnecessary keyboard use in the post-chorus section.

As for the two different singers, we have a draw here. Both Arthur Berkut and Mikhail Zhitnyakov are charismatic and passionate melodic heavy metal singers. I have no preference here.

In the end, objectively speaking, Крещение огнём still sounds excellent seventeen years after its original release because the songs have aged very well. The acoustic guitar and keyboard sounds have improved on this release. The bass guitar and also drums sound however less impressive. The two different singers are both absolutely outstanding. At the end of the day, I would recommend you to purchase the original album version that is slightly better than this re-recording. This new release is for avid collectors and fans only.

Final rating: 90%